To Life
by itslivinginallofus
Summary: Londie, LondonxMaddie, MaddiexLondon Mr. Tipton's funeral stirs up a world of unexplored emotions for London, including reunions with people that had long ago become a distant dream. Oneshot. Please review as you'd like, just don't gay bash, k? Thanks!


**DISCLAIMER: Sadly, I am not fortunate enough to own anything pertaining to The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yay! Londie! Okay, so when I came up with this idea, I considered that it may be a little morbid and almost didn't go through with it, but I think it works… hopefully? Maybe? I'll let you guys be the judge of that!**

Wilfred Tipton's funeral was in March, but it was one of the snowiest Marches that Massachusetts had seen in awhile. It wasn't uncommon for snow to keep on through early Spring, but this day bore a foot and a half of snow in stark contrast to the previous week that saw none.

After surveying the interior of the chapel, London Tipton, Mr. Tipton's only daughter despite his several marriages and mistresses, could count a maximum of 5 people she actually knew. It seemed ironic that the attendees that dared to brave the weather were for the most part those who knew Mr. Tipton the least, but were instead there for the morbid fascination/celebrity factor. Of course they weren't the only people there, but many others of those that managed to show were mainly curious to see whether or not they were in the will.

One of the familiar faces was Mr. Marion Moseby, who served as London's escort in the absence of any immediate family. While Moseby didn't show much outward emotion, London knew that out of all the Tipton Hotel managers across the globe, all of whom her father had met, he had taken a specific liking to Moseby, especially since he hired him for the original Boston Tipton Hotel. Oftentimes, London was jealous of Moseby along with others whom her father seemed particularly close with, since she had to vie for his attention enough already, but at a time like this, she was grateful for his presence.

The 25-year-old London sat nearly motionless in the front row of St. Anthony's, aside from the occasional deep intake of air followed by a shaky exhale and the subsequent dabbing of tears that seemed to come only one at a time. The young heiress was surprised that she had any tears left to cry at all, since a day hadn't passed in the two weeks since her father's death that she wasn't completely overcome by endless bouts of emotion.

She had expected her fragmented relationship with her father to make things less difficult on her, but it only seemed to further complicate things. The inevitable sadness that came with the passing of the man who bore her also teamed up with the guilt she felt for hoping to distance herself from the pain after his death. As much as she wanted to solely channel her anger at him for being a deficient parent, she still could not prevent the myriad of happier memories that flooded her consciousness: the times in her youth when he was an attentive, even doting, picture of an ideal father, before the demand in the business world caused both his absence and his overbearing pride to increase.

In her seat, London did her best to avert her eyes from the photograph of her father that sat next to his displayed urn, no longer wanting to perpetuate the prevailing image in her mind of his smiling face. She no longer wanted to recall the smell of his cologne or the feeling of his embrace. London had become a near professional at behaving in the best interest of a daunting public, and to her, this was almost no different. Despite her usual extravagance, she chose a modest, black Chloe dress, and did her best to blend in with the nearly-apathetic crowd in the chapel.

After the traditional singing of the hymns, the chapel fell to a silence that was more awkward than respectful, and London felt an odd restlessness as the priest made his painstakingly slow way to the pulpit. She had been holding up decently thus far, and things were going to plan just as the program indicated, but a feeling hung over her head that felt familiar, but distant all at once. It was a human-like presence that while she instantly knew it was not her father's, it was that of a loved one.

In the quiet of the church interior, the sudden sound of a door closing in the back of the chapel rang out like a shot, causing the congregation to visibly jump and look in the direction of the sound. It was then that London definitively understood the hovering feeling that moved from over her head to the center of her chest as she was the only parishioner that earned a look from Maddie Fitzpatrick, who had just entered.

It had been 8 years since the two had last seen each other, and Maddie had come a long way since clocking out for the last time as the Boston Tipton's candy counter girl. Gone were the green plaid skirt, blue dress shirt, and oversized necktie that she spent most of her teenage years in, and her wavy, platinum blonde locks had long ago been exchanged for pin-straight, darker blonde hair. Standing silently against a wall in the back of the chapel in a simple pants suit, Maddie perfectly personified the sense of distant familiarity that London had been feeling only moments before she walked in. The congregation's eyes only lingered on Maddie for a few seconds out of politeness, and London followed suit, which left her little time to take a thorough look at her long lost friend. The Asian beauty had not changed nearly as much physically as her fair-skin counterpart, aside from developing a more curvaceous, mature figure, but she hoped that Maddie would not automatically assume that her personality had remained as similar as her appearance.

"Is that Madeline?" Mr. Moseby whispered to London as the priest began to speak. "I haven't seen her in… well… it must be six years now at least."

"Eight," London punctuated, causing Moseby to look up at the first verbal reply from her all day. "It's been eight years since she left The Tipton. I haven't seen her since then, either."

"It was very respectful for her to come," Moseby commented.

"Quiet," London commanded. "I want this to go as quickly as possible."

…InsertBandofStarsThatIndicatesTimePassageHere…

At the request of London, who turned out to be the sole decision maker of all the funeral arrangements, there was to be no receiving line and no collation. She assumed that the best use of the time, energy, and money implemented outside of the service itself would be to preserve her father's name and perpetuate a fraction of his money into a memorial fund and research organization to further prevent heart disease. As she stood at the front of the chapel and waited for the crowded room to filter out, she was very much at peace with her decision, grateful that she did not need to accept condolences from or dine with the room full of strangers.

As she was eager to depart from the church, she wasn't lucky enough to escape all condolences as the priest put his hand on her shoulder from behind. Moseby turned around to wait, but London waved him along, assuring him that she would meet him outside.

"Please be assured that my prayers are with you and yours, Ms. Tipton," he said. "Your father will certainly be missed."

London gave a singular, emotionless nod. "Thank you." She turned to leave.

The priest stopped her once more. "I'm also sorry to hear of your separation with your fiancé, especially at this difficult time. One of my parishioners holds a couples reconciliation meeting weekly, if you and he would be interested."

"Our separation was for the best, but thank you," she replied coldly once again before turning to leave definitively.

London opened the outside door and the coldness broke the air like glass. Despite the chapped chill of the winter day, many people, including those who did not even attend the service, stood outside, but her eyes fell directly on Maddie and Moseby, who were talking at the foot of the stone steps. For an instant, London envisioned them just as she remembered them when she was 17, exchanging banter in the hotel lobby. Her flashback broke when she overheard Moseby telling Maddie of his concern for London, and asking her to keep an eye out. He must have seen London approaching, because he kissed Maddie's cheek and informed both her and London that he would be escaping the cold in London's limousine.

London internally cursed and warned any bystander who may dare approach her as she took steps in the other young woman's direction. Luckily for all involved, no one did, and soon enough, she and Maddie were standing within a foot of one another, face to face for the first time in almost a decade.

Oblivious to Maddie and London, the eyes of those in the crowd began falling on the two of them more and more, most people anxious to observe the well-known heiress in an uncensored display of humanity. Many secretly hoped for a breakdown, and insensitive tabloid reporters were waiting with cameras in hand to snap shots fraught with tears and pain.

Instead, for the first time in weeks, a wide smile broke out on London Tipton's face.

Seconds after, the blonde's smile appeared as well. "I promised," she said.

Without the slightest hints of warning nor subtlety, London leapt into Maddie's arms, bombarding her with a joyous, vindicated kiss. Unlike the unsuspecting and now greatly accumulating crowd, Maddie expected and consumed the affection, moving her arms under London's backside to further support her as they continued to romantically maul one another on the St. Anthony's sidewalk.

They broke their kiss momentarily while clinging to one another desperately, simply in order to discover the realness in one another's eyes like they had so many years ago. The unfamiliar sensation of happy tears adorned their cheeks as they were elated to find everything they were forced to abandon long ago still alive in each other's touch, kiss, and gaze.

Once again, London experienced mirage-like images of some of their more memorable instances. The first was her brief, but more than sufficient, stay at Maddie's house when they were both 15 and London was temporarily broke. It began as an unwelcome imposition for both of them, but in just a few short days, became a life-changing experience spurred by letting go of the excuses and avoidance of the attraction that was clearly mutual and very much existent. She remembered the smell and taste of their first kiss on Maddie's bed, and was amazed at how little the sensory experience had changed in all the time that had passed.

Pieces of their 2-year romance montage flashed before her eyes, mainly memories of hidden kisses and stolen moments when Maddie would make her way up to London's suite while on break. Many of the schemes they devised to be closer to be one another as well as the fights they feigned to distract from their relationship came into mind, too, although nothing as vivid as the day their world came screeching to an unforgettable halt.

2007 was the year of the surprise inspection in contrast to Mr. Tipton's announced annual visit, so the last thing that either girl expected while they lost themselves in what ironically was an anniversary celebration and kiss, was for Mr. Tipton to enter London's suite, preceded only by his bodyguards.

Renowned for being a staunch Republican who adhered strictly to traditional values in regard to religion, business, and family, Mr. Tipton instantly dished out only a fraction of how much power fueled by anger can accomplish when he immediately had Maddie fired as the Candy Counter Girl. In fear of London's involvement becoming public knowledge, he never gave Moseby a precise reason for the termination of Maddie's employment. Instead, on paper, he opted for the reason he had used for all of his divorces -- irreconcilable differences.

Despite her cruel banishment from The Tipton, Maddie called London's cell phone that fateful night after she got home to insist that there had to be some way around London's never-attentive father. But after that night, London knew that their situation was far beyond negotiation, and that the man she once endeared as "Daddy" was long gone, and despite Maddie's determination and her own desire to make things work, she cried, "As long as my father is alive, 'you and me' is no longer a reality."

That was the last time they spoke in 8 years.

Sure enough, Mr. Tipton went to the greatest lengths possible to ensure London and Maddie's separation, which made little to no dent in his '2nd richest man in the world' status. Money of that stature easily made monitored phone lines, internet, and private investigators not only a possibility, but a reality, trapping London and Maddie in ever-shrinking, separate glass boxes with no plausible way out.

Maddie spent her time busting her ass through jobs, school, and charity work, running herself ragged in a desperate attempt to distract herself from the love and life she lost. London conversely proceeded to waste away, all of her events, galas, and banquets losing the appeal they once had. She wasn't even allowed to attempt to grow and change as a person, because any uncharacteristic change in behavior such as her attempting to get a job or make herself useful was monitored even more closely by her father's higher-up's.

It finally occurred to her that perhaps the best way to divert her father's suspicions would be to become romantically involved with someone he saw much more fit, which after Maddie, would be just about any man short of the homeless man on the corner. At age 24, she made very public speculation of her engagement to a younger, local man; a Harvard undergraduate student who was attending on a science scholarship.

As if Maddie had tapped into London's mind and was watching the flashback sequence with her, she interjected, "So, why did your engagement to commoner Cody Martin end? The tabloids insist that they're not surprised, but I really thought you two kids could last!" Maddie joked sarcastically.

London laughed. "Come on, I knew it would be in all of the papers, and I needed to pick someone that you would know without a doubt I was not in love with. Not to mention someone I could trust enough to work out a sham engagement with. How else could you keep your promise when it came down to it?"

The promise came right after London assured Maddie that their love couldn't survive as long as her father did. With all of the earnestness in the world, Maddie said, "Well, if that's the truth, then I will be waiting for you at your father's funeral. I promise you."

Maddie's eyes began to tear up. "Well, after I made my promise you just said good bye. That was that. I wasn't even sure if you would want to see me today. Through it all, I know that you're sad about your dad being gone."

London, in turn, began to tear up. "As usual, you're right. You know me better than anyone, and you know that this has been hard for me and it still is. But there's something you need to know… in no uncertain terms."

"What's that?" Maddie asked, her eyes scanning London's back and forth.

"That life means damn near nothing without you," London exhaled, "so in a weird way, it all evens out."

Maddie surrendered to the tears threatening to fall and once again allowed herself to be consumed with the feeling of happy sorrow. "So, what are we waiting for? We've got some catching up to do."

As London leaned in for another kiss, she suddenly was broken out of her reverie for long enough to acknowledge the cameras whose flash bulbs were still going off at an astonishing rate since they first embraced. She shook her conditioned response to avoid the public eye and once again lunged toward Maddie in the most theatrical and noticeable kiss possible. She held Maddie's hand and thrust it with hers in the air above their heads, as if no one was watching them before, and exclaimed the phrase that would soon take over headlines in newspapers worldwide.

"To life!" she chanted with an unrivaled smile as she walked hand-in-hand with Maddie past the crowd, the noise, and the hearse.

**Ta da! Okay, so those of you who have read some of my other stuff will know that this is very different for me… and I'm a nervous fricken wreck about it! Review to either justify or dispel my nerves?! XOXO!**


End file.
